Celtic fans can catch a glimpse of their side in action for the first time ahead of the 2024-25 campaign when they face Ayr United in a pre-season friendly on Friday.
The match has been organised to mark the official opening of the new North Stand at Somerset Park following a £2million refurbishment which has increased the stadium capacity by 500. Over 9,000 tickets have been sold for the fixture that will see ex-Celtic captain, Scott Brown, now manager of Ayr, take on his former Parkhead boss Brendan Rodgers.
Celtic have yet to make a new signing this summer – so there will be no new faces for supporters to cast an eye over – but there may be an unfamiliar look to the starting line-up due to a number of first-team regulars being unavailable.
Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers are at the Copa America with Canada and USA respectively, while Scotland internationals Callum McGregor, Greg Taylor, Anthony Ralston and James Forrest have all been given extra time to recover from the Euros.
With Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Luis Palma also returning late after featuring for Japan and Honduras last month, this could open the door to a handful of fringe players and youngsters to be given a chance to impress against the Championship side ahead of the new season.
Here is our predicted Celtic starting XI to face Ayr United:
1. Scott Bain
The former Dundee stopper has been temporarily promoted to first-choice goalkeeper following the retirement of Joe Hart. With Celtic in the market for a new number one, it is expected that Bain will revert to a back-up role once the new season begins. Photo: Ross MacDonald - SNS Group
2. Ben McPherson
The Scotland Under-21 international spent last season on loan at Queen's Park. With Alistair Johnston and Anthony Ralston both unavailable, the 20-year-old right-back could be promoted to the starting line-up against Ayr. Photo: Craig Williamson - SNS Group
3. Adam Montgomery
The 21-year-old left-back didn't play much football last season with loan spells at Fleetwood and Motherwell curtailed by injury. He has already tasted first-team action at Celtic and could do so again at Somerset Park with Greg Taylor unavailable and Alexandro Bernabei out on loan in Brazil. Photo: Craig Foy - SNS Group
4. Maik Nawrocki
The Polish defender did not make the impression he was expected to in his first season at Celtic after joining for £4m from Legia Warsaw. The 23-year-old will hope to become a more influential figure in the coming campaign. Photo: Ross MacDonald - SNS Group